Head of opposition party says Japan should use nuclear power to counter Iran crisis

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of an opposition party in Japan, said that Japan should run all its nuclear?power stations to offset the impact the Iran war has had on electricity bills. Japan imports around 11% of liquefied gas and 95% of oil from the Middle East. Around 70% of these are imported via the Strait of Hormuz which is now effectively closed because of the war.

Tamaki, the leader of the Democratic Party for the People on X, stated that "unless we fully utilize nuclear power as a?carbon-free power'source, with less dependency on overseas sources, our electricity bills will inevitably increase." The new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also pro-nuclear, and the Japanese public are gradually supporting nuclear power. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdowns in 2011, Japan shut down all 54 of its nuclear power reactors, which produced roughly 30% of Japan's electricity. Thirty-three reactors remain operational but only 15 have been restarted.

According to Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, nine more reactors have requested restarts. However, their exact resumption date is yet to be determined. The oil prices soared by over 20% Monday, reaching their highest level in years. Fears of a tighter supply were fueled by the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran. Industries in Japan have already reported an 'impact.

Mitsubishi Chemical announced that it had begun cutting ethylene production on Monday at its Ibaraki plant, north of Tokyo. A Japanese lawmaker stated on Sunday that the government had instructed the site of a national oil reserves to prepare for an possible release. Japan has emergency oil reserves that are equivalent to 254 days' worth of domestic consumption, but there is no decision on releasing any of it.

(source: Reuters)